When Ingram became Sarepta Therapeutics’ CEO in 2017, he didn’t have a connection to muscular dystrophy, but he has developed a fierce passion for the therapeutic area. He will step aside from his role to dedicate more time to his family.
Sarepta Therapeutics stalwart CEO Doug Ingram, who has overseen nearly a decade of challenging drug development at the Duchenne muscular dystrophy-focused biotech, will step down at the end of the year.
The sudden departure—shocking enough as Ingram has always steadfastly defended the company through its ups and downs—was made more poignant as the executive shared the reasoning behind his difficult decision.
“As you know, in late 2024 we entered into a partnership with Arrowhead, and we gained access to a number of very promising therapies, including SRP-1003, for a devastating disease, DM-1,” Ingram explained in a statement on the company’s fourth quarter earnings report on Wednesday. “Well, subsequent to that partnership in a fairly shocking and certainly ironic twist of fate, my personal commitment to muscular dystrophy is deepened, as two members of my immediate family have been diagnosed now with myotonic dystrophy, DM-1.”
Ingram explained that, when he became CEO in 2017, he did not have a personal connection to muscular dystrophy. “Through my work at Sarepta, I have developed a zealous passion for our quest to improve the lives of those living with muscular dystrophy. I doubt anyone who knows me would disagree with that.”
Ingram said that as CEO, he has spent long stretches in Boston and Cambridge, while his family resides in California. In light of the news about his family, Ingram has decided to step aside to focus on his commitments at home.
The board has launched a search for Ingram’s successor to continue Sarepta’s mission.
A Rough Year For Sarepta
Ingram has overseen four therapeutic approvals in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, including most recently for Elevidys, the first-ever gene therapy for the disease. While Sarepta’s therapies have reached the market, the path has never been a straight one for the biotech.
Mixed clinical trial data have led to challenging regulatory reviews but Sarepta always came out on top when the FDA released its decision—providing near-term access to treatments for patients, primarily boys and young men, who face progressive muscle weakness and eventually early death.
Last year, Sarepta faced its toughest challenge yet when the gene therapy backbone of Elevidys and one of its experimental treatments was linked to a number of patient deaths. A public battle with the FDA ensued, during which Ingram and his team fought to keep the treatment available to patients.
Ingram acknowledged in his remarks that his role has not been easy but heralded his team for fighting on beside him.
“We set audacious goals for ourselves, chief among them, the goal of lessening the burden and extending the lives of boys and young men with [DMD],” Ingram said. “Along the way, as you all know, we solved many thorny scientific and technical problems, even as we faced and overcame many exogenous and extraordinary obstacles—challenges that would have undone a less committed, less creative, less resilient organization.”
The work that Sarepta has done in DMD, with thousands of patients benefiting, “would have been unimaginable a decade ago,” Ingram said.
But there is still work to do, he insisted. “This decision was a deeply difficult one for me as this is the most meaningful and rewarding role that one could imagine, and we stand at one of the most exciting moments in our entire history.”
